Top Story with Tom Llamas - Monday, July 7, 2025

Episode Date: July 8, 2025

Tonight's Top Story has the latest breaking news, political headlines, news from overseas and the best NBC News reporting from across the country and around the world.

Tonight, a special edition of Top Story, live from Kerrville, Texas, the site of those devastating floods, and now a frantic search for the missing. Teams in the water, workers combing through mountains of debris, the new video in tonight, rescue crews pulling victims off roofs, the death toll topping 100. 27 campers and counselors that camp mystic, either found dead or still missing. This says the speed of the flood comes into sharper focus, and the scope. The rope of the destruction, even more vivid. Also tonight, pressing for answers the growing questions about why the massive floods caught many in this community by surprise. Despite warnings from the National Weather Service, the push now for accountability. Plus, surviving the surge, we speak to the experts about what to do if you ever find yourself staring down a flash flood.

Shantelle's wrath, the tropical depression laying waste of parts of North Carolina, the urgent rescues underway tonight. In Washington, President Trump pushing that July 9th tariff deadline and is meeting tonight with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, what it means for a possible ceasefire in Gaza. Border gun battle, a man exchanging fire with agents at a border facility in McAllen, Texas, killed during the confrontation. And are Morgan Chesky tonight reporting here in Kerrville, his hometown, speaking to his own family about the heroin moments they escape the floodwaters and what they're now doing to help. And as we remember so many campers lost in these floods, we speak to one former camper and counselor about the magic of camp mystic. Top Story starts right now. And good evening and welcome to the special edition of Top Story live from the hill country in Texas. Just below us is the Guadalupe River and the destruction it carved out through parts of central Texas.

you can still see some of the cleanup effort going on right now tonight. And we wanted to show you how high that river rose, more than 30 feet, even higher from where we are broadcasting live tonight. You can see just the immense power and size of that river when it came up. Earlier today, we were there as rescuers worked their way through massive piles of debris and mangled cars along riverbanks, cruise on airboats and in the water, searching for anyone still alive, as well as those that didn't make it. Tonight, the death toll has surpassed 100 people lost.

This amid the stunning images of the devastation, this bridge completely cut off by the racing waters. Look at that. This time-lapse video showing how fast the nearby Lano River rose on the night of the 4th of July. At Camp Mystic, the all-girls summer camp directly in the flood's path, 27 campers and counselors, believed to be among the dead and missing. And these images showing what the water did inside one of the cabins there, the high water line on the wall. mud caked on the beds. And remember, children were sleeping in these rooms when that water came in. This says we're getting new warnings, more flash floods could be headed for central Texas.

Bill Cairns is standing by to walk us through exactly how something like this could happen in this digging age in America. But we want to begin here in Kerrville with the agonizing search for those still unaccounted for. Tonight, battling the heat, mud, and misery, they're looking for any signs of life. search and rescue teams on the Guadalupe River furiously combing through massive mountains of debris. We're in the middle of the river right now, and just behind me, you can see why this search and recovery is so complicated. There are mounds of this mangled steel and tree branches and tree trunks. This team is trying to figure out a way inside to see what, if anything, or anyone is still trapped. An all-out search for survivors by water, air, and horseback.

All over this area, you see home. and trailers and RVs with this giant orange X. It means they've been searched. We hope whoever lived in here got out because you can see what the river water did to this, flipping this entire RV over, destroying everything inside. Volunteer firefighter Wyatt Kelly has been at this for days. What kind of things have you seen out here?

Unthinkable things. There's things that no one ever would have thought they've seen in their lifetime. So many people were in their beds, fast asleep, when the floodwaters began to rapidly rise early on the 4th of July. The catastrophic flooding killing at least 104 people in six counties, including Julian Ryan, who was with his mother, kids and wife Christina in their trailer home as the water began to rise. My husband started panicking because there was no way for us to get out. There was no way for us to get up. And so he tried to bust out the window and sliced his arm

almost off. Christina says he quickly began to bleed out. I remember. I'm so sorry you had to see your son go through that. I just remember holding him so he would get swept in the flood. Blood going everywhere. His last words to me was mom, I love you. And you make sure you tell everybody else I love you. Love them. Tragity also playing out at Camp Mystic, which says 27 of its campers and counselors are among the dead and missing. Hallie Thompson's 10-year-old daughter somehow managed to escape from her cabin. My daughter grabbed onto a tree and grabbed the hand of her friend and put it on the tree. And so one by one those girls came out and found anything they could cling to.

Hallie and four other family members were nearby. Their cabin was also surrounded by. by water. She says their neighbors save their lives. It feels wrong or strange to feel how grateful that I am that we're all alive while we are still waiting for word about friends' daughters and while we have received word of the friends' daughters who have died. Lila Bonner, Sarah Marsh, Janie Hunt, Eloise Peck, and twins Hannah and Rebecca Lawrence, just some of the young campers whose lives were cut tragically short. Kelly Ann LaTal is still missing.

What do all the reindeer do? Her dad posting this video of her solo at a Christmas pageant, asking prayers for a miracle. You can see the flood's devastating toll on this century-old, all-girls camp in these images. Look at how high the water came into the cabin. The floodwaters tossing muddy mattresses from bunk beds. This pink trunk with the name L flipped on its side.

A stuffed animal left behind. A camp nurse posting this haunting video of some of the little girls singing as they evacuated. The Fourth of July holiday brought many families to the cabins that dot the river's edge. We don't know everybody who was here. So we don't know everybody who's missing. It could be even worse, you're saying? Yeah, it will be worse. Because we don't know everybody who's missing.

Joe Herron Jr. is the mayor of Curville. Took me completely by surprise. I'm sad to say I didn't know. If there was any way on God's Green Earth that we could have warned people, we would have done it. But we did not know. 13-year-old Blair Harbor and 11-year-old sister Brooke were there spending the holiday in a cabin with their parents and grandparents. Their bodies were found 15 miles down the river together. Their school wrote a, quote, powerful symbol of their lasting bond.

Their parents survived, but their grandparents are still missing. Amid the heartbreaking loss of life, there are also remarkable stories of survival. After this woman was swept 20 miles down the river, she clung to a tree for hours until rescuers and boats were able to come and save her. In Hunt, Texas, Diana Smith says she woke up to find her house surrounded by water. Open the front door and it sweeps both my dogs different directions and I'm panicking thinking, now what the hell am I going to do? She says she called 911, but no one came. I said a prayer when I was standing on my porch.

Both my parents are deceased and I said, Mom, Dad, God, help. She managed to jump into a kayak with her dogs, paddling to safety. 11-year-old Kaylin Kubina was at Camp Lahunta six miles from Camp Mystic. We looked outside and we just saw like an ocean out there. It's just like completely destroying everything. There's people in it. Oh, my guys. So many people in it.

This cabin appeared to float away in the flood waters. Still, the camp says everyone was able to evacuate to safety. We saw like a whole cabin just floating down. And that's when we knew like things were getting actually real out there. Like we were starting to. I realized that this was a real natural disaster crisis. We were with the Alvarado family as the reality set in. Their two daughters were in this RV when the river surrounded them.

These are the images of what they saw outside of their windows. We couldn't see through the water, but we could see the currents moving, and it just kept going. There was no end to it. Their dad came to their rescue along with a neighbor, pulling the girls to safety. Brooke, the oldest of the two, looking down at the river, and realized. how some girls just like her weren't as lucky when you guys heard about all the people that that didn't make it I mean what was that like I mean to know that

like you were right here it it hurt sorry it just sucks that a lot of people just lost their lives but it's really good to hear about the people that are getting out and stuff And there are so many stories just like that up and down the river, just devastating. We're going to have much more on the lives lost tonight, including more of our interview with the family of Julian Ryan later, who died trying to save his family from those rising floodwaters later in the broadcast. Right now, I'm joined by two survivors of these devastating floods in Hunt, Texas. Courtney Garrison and her 10-year-old daughter, Stella, survived escaping to the roof of their home. Courtney and Stella joined Top Story Live tonight, guys.

First, thank you for being here. I am so sorry for what you guys have gone through. Courtney, walk our viewers through what you experienced. You were sleeping, and you saw the water rising to your second floor? Yes, so we were sleeping, and the power went out, and that's when I started hearing the noise. I didn't know what it was. I had no clue. It was supposed to rain that much.

I had no clue. I had no clue what the noise was. So I was like, I'm going to go downstairs and see if there's anything in a store or what's going on, and I opened the door. To go downstairs, and it was water. And what did you think? Yeah, I was absolutely stunned. I had to take a beat, and we got her up. We had to get our clothes on, and I was like, we're going out the window, the other side.

And was it hard to convince Stella to kind of, hey, get up, get out? Stella, you were ready to go? I woke up hearing that stuff, too, so then I just put on clothes. Were you scared? Yeah. Yeah. How did you kind of walk her through this? I mean, as a mom, you know, you sort of have it inside of you to protect your kids, but you see all this rushing water and also realizing maybe it's up, I don't know how how you guys were, but 30 feet from where it should be. It was not hard to convince her to move. She did want to pack a little bag, and I was like, that's not, we don't have time for that. And I was like, we need to get out on the roof instantly. So we did. We got the dog. We got a life fest on her. We got out. We have some video from that night. I think that you shot here. What are our? viewers looking at so that's the rooftop right there we were sitting right there watching the water

come up yeah and and I mean you hear about all these stories you guys were the lucky ones I mean it's got to be so hard to know what's happened to your community it's absolutely devastating I'm I feel really bad saying that we lost everything but I'm so thankful that we're alive I mean I know people other people can't even say that so yeah that night did you have any idea how bad it was no I know I mean we were watching like trailers and cars go down you know where the road normally would have been but once the water receded a little bit I was able to see some I know I had no idea it's insane you guys had a friend at Camp Mystic her best friend was there

Lucy Kennedy how is she okay she's she's back home okay okay okay thank God yeah I do want to ask you, did you get any type of warning? Did anything go off in your cell phone? Did you hear anything at night? Nothing. Nothing went off. I had no idea. I had no idea. Are you angry about that? Yes. Yes. That was one of my first thoughts, because I knew that all the funding got cut and all that. And I was like, well, I guess this is the direct result of that. And I don't know if that's the case, but that was my first thought. For our viewers that don't know the Hill Country, they don't know this area. What attracts people to come here for July 4th? Why do they camp along the river? I mean, it's a special place, obviously, when there's not a disaster.

Yeah, I mean, you can't really tell by looking at it right now, but it's absolutely one of the most beautiful places ever. What are you saying, Stella? It's really pretty. When it's nighttime, you can, and you go across a hunt crossing, you can hear bats, and if you go down there at night, you can see all the little bats on the floor, and it's really pretty to be on the river Because you can go fishing and swimming, and it's amazing. Yeah. When you see this behind you, when you look over and you see sort of the rescue efforts, but what was your beautiful community, will this come back?

Do you think? I mean, I know this is still very fresh. It will. It will. It will. Yeah. Our community is really strong, and they have stepped up instantly and just done so much. And I have absolutely no doubt that it's going to be rebuilt and it's going to be better.

I think we have some images of your home and what happened to it right now after this, the flooding happened. These are pictures you were able to take afterwards. How high did the water get there? Well, that's the back. That was our staircase right there. Yeah, so all the way up to the top of that,

that's my bedroom right there that you're looking into. The TV was still on the wall. Yeah, on the walls, yeah. Where did you escape to when you got out? The back one would do. Yeah, where the chimney is right there just to the left of us. You jumped onto the roof? So the entire apartment has wall.

See, you can see the windows on that whole wall. And the bathroom had windows, and we could get out onto the roof from there. Could you hear anybody? Could you see people? No, I couldn't hear anything. I could see lights. Well, the local police that lived up the hill, he told me later. He was like, yeah, I was going to get up and go to work and realized I couldn't. But he drove down there and shined his light on us, and he told us.

He was like, I see you guys. I know you're there, but, I mean, nobody can get to you. the rest of the country to know about what happened here. What do you want from the rest of the U.S.? Wow. I don't even know. I mean, the amount of support that I've seen here is just thank you guys. Everybody who's shown up to help.

It's been amazing. It's an incredible volunteer effort, huh? People from all over to Texas, even other countries. New Mexico, I've seen. I mean, yeah. I saw because of the sign on their truck, the New Mexico truck. It's nice, right? Uh-huh.

All right. Stella, Courtney, thank you so much for talking to us. I'm so sorry you went through this, and I really hope. And I know that this, at one point, they'll reveal this. So thank you. Thank you for being here. These communities are no stranger to the catastrophic flooding we've seen over the past few days. Texas Hill Country with the Guadalupe River following through its rugged hills and valleys

is one of the most flood-prone regions in the U.S. earning its nickname, Flash Flood Alley. I want to bring in NBC News meteorologist Bill Carrant. And Bill, I want you to walk our viewers on Top Story tonight through how this happened and how that water rose so fast on Friday and July 4th. And Tom, I want to comment on what Courtney said about you asked her. The question everyone wants to know is that why didn't these people get their alerts on their phones? And she acted like she was surprised she didn't get it.

The weather service said they issued it at 1 a.m. and at 4.30 a.m. So she should have had two notifications on her phone, and she said she didn't get any. And that's one of the mysteries that needs to be answered is why these people did not get that heads up. So, yeah, I appreciate you asking that. and we'll get those answers, I'm sure. So let me get into what you said. How did this happen? How do we get a river that was at one and a half feet?

It was in an extreme drought. One and a half feet was how high that river was and it jumped to 34 feet in 90 minutes. How does that happen? Well, you have to have extreme rainfall. We know that, or like a dam break or a tsunami. Obviously, we didn't have that. This was just extreme rainfall rates out of thunderstorm.

Some areas ended up like 20 inches a hunt where they're located. This is close where Tom is. Some areas there were right around a foot of rain. And this rain fell in a very short period of time, like hours. And it was all because of the moisture associated with what was a harmless tropical storm about eight days ago that made landfall in Mexico. And then all of the moisture from that drifted north into Texas. It sat there all week long. It waited for a spark. We got that in some thunderstorm complex. And then it turned into a storm of its own. And that's how all that rain fell so quickly. And I mentioned that drought. Think of the water on pavement. It just flows right off. When the ground is in a drought, it's really hard, almost like bricks. It doesn't absorb the water. So that was just rushing down through the hill country here, all these little streams and tributaries into the Guadalupe River. And that's how we got this extreme event. I mean, it happened in 85 or 87, which was similar to this one. It also happened to 95, not to this extent. And one of the questions was, is why didn't people get their warnings? Well, it's the middle of the night, so they're not watching TV and radio for the most part. Mobile weather apps. You know, some people didn't have cell phone service or maybe their Wi-Fi was out. We're still trying to figure out what happened with the wireless emergency alerts, like when the mom said, she didn't get them. And then the failsafe on all this is having a no-weather radio. And that's something that will work through the radio waves.

You don't need any cell phone, anything whatsoever. And that's what the camp should have had. That's what all these camps should have had. And that's how they should have got notification. But we have no indications they got those either, Tom. So we definitely have a lot of failures here in the system. need to be answered in the days ahead. Yeah, and they'll be examining all of that, we hope.

Bill Cairns for us, Bill, we thank you for that. As we mentioned, the shocking devastation from these flash floods, also raising questions of accountability. We just heard it there with Bill. The state's warning and evacuation protocols now under scrutiny as communities look to make a change to prevent another tragedy. NBC's Ryan Chandler has this report. Curville resident Michelle Pittman had no idea that death and destruction was coming down

river. You know, this was something that happened that that no one, no one was prepared for. As the urgent search continues, questions and calls for accountability grow about how many in this community were caught by such surprise. Rest assured, no one knew this kind of flood was coming. Many questioning why neighborhoods and camps along the Guadalupe River were not told to evacuate earlier. Very tough to make those calls because what we also don't want to do is cry wolf. That can't mystic, the Texas lieutenant. Governor says campers were awakened only by thunder and lightning, phones not allowed by camp rules. He's now pushing for state lawmakers to fund more outdoor warning sirens. We shouldn't

have lightning and thunder waking up kids. We should have those sirens. We need to go back step by step by step and look at what happened and why it happened. The National Weather Service says a flood watch at 118 p.m. Thursday was elevated on Friday at 114 a.m. to urgent flash flood warnings for Kerr County, sending emergency alerts to cell phones and weather radios. Then at 4.03 a.m., an upgrade to a flash flood emergency. But for so many, those warnings went unheard. Obviously, most people at 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. are asleep. And so I think we will have a reasonable conversation about, A, are there any ways to have earlier detection? Senator Ted Cruz defending the National Weather Service amid concerns of staffing shortages,

saying Congress will act. We did see a lot of people heroically taking kids out of harm's way, but it should have happened earlier. How we make that happen, I think is a very reasonable discussion. As so many still grieve, many questioning how to prevent the next disaster. Ryan joins us now live from just a bit down the river here in Kerrville, Texas. Ryan, it didn't take long for the response to this disaster to be both scrutinized and politicized, cuts to the National Weather Service at the center of these early discussions.

What are officials saying and could this bring real change in the future? Well, Tom, it's unclear to what extent the budget cuts affected the forecast from the National Weather Service on Friday evening. We know that the NWS had five people staffing that overnight shift here in the region. That's pretty typical. Tom, what we do know, though, is that officials are starting a more robust, wider conversation about what we need to do to prevent a tragedy like this in the future. Talking with Senator Ted Cruz and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick today, they agree that there is a bipartisan need to assess how to ensure early detection, early evacuation in flash flood emergencies like this, how to ensure funding for things like tornado or rather flood sirens, and how to make sure smaller counties who may not have as many resources as Ted Cruz's Harris County are able to prepare for emergencies like this. this in a way that will hopefully save more lives in the future, Tom. All right, Ryan Chandler for us.

Ryan, we thank you for that. We're going to be back in a moment here live on Top Story with more of the special broadcast live from Kerrville, Texas, and the death toll rising. Now more than 100 lives lost. The Kerr County Sheriff will join us with what's next for the desperate search effort. Also breaking news out of Washington, a high-stakes meeting at the White House between President Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu

as the president shifts his tariff's debt. deadline. We'll explain. And the deadly shooting at a border patrol station here in Texas, what happened when a man pulled out an assault rifle opening fire on federal agents? Stay with us. At that time of the night, it was just so black, and you can see the lights of vehicles getting washed off from upriver, and you can hear hunking. You can see anything, but you can hear hunking. You can see anything, but you can hear hunking. and you can hear the screaming. That was Lorena Guyenne, the owner of an RV park here in Kerrville, Texas, describing the terrifying moments when more than two dozen RVs were swept away by floodwaters.

With that, I want to bring in the Sheriff of Kerr County, Larry Leitha. Sheriff Leitha, thanks so much for joining us live tonight here on Top Story. You have been giving consistent updates to the public on your team's efforts here. Do you have any update tonight on the search and rescue mission, anything we can tell our viewers right now? Yes. As we're speaking, it's going to continue. Like I said, it's going to continue until we find the last body. We're still out here. We're still searching constantly around the clock 24-7, like we've told the public, we're going to continue to do that. Sheriff, what has been the toughest part? I know you're dealing with a lot of loss right now. I was out there with some search and rescue teams. I mean, and it is grueling work. You're dealing with mounds of debris, a lot of danger in the water, and the currents are still pretty strong in the Guadalupe River. Yes. Well, the toughest thing, I mean, yeah, we have, I don't know, we're up to 1,000 employees out here helping out. We do have a lot of people. Some of the toughest things, though, for me, has been, you know, the uncertainty, the unknown and answering to the families that are still missing their loved ones. That's, for me, Percy, that's been a really tough thing. Like I said, I've assured them we will continue until we're complete with this mission. and serve this community here. Some of these things you can you can prepare for. Some of them

you cannot, right? This may have been one of them. Do you have any concerns tonight that if something like this were to happen again, people here would get the right emergency alerts, enough people would be notified? You know, I certainly hope that will happen. I know this will be talked about for a very long time. And I go back to the parents. I've assured them we'll do everything we can. But as the sheriff of this county, my number one priority is trying to find everybody missing. And when we do find that person missing, that we identify them. And then after we identify them, we notify the next-a-kin. To me, that's the most important thing.

What happened before, it's here. We have to deal with it. But I want to get some closure for these families. I hear you. We're day four into this, and I know you have hope. I know this community prays a lot. We have reported time and time again about miracles on this broadcast. Do you think there are still people out there that could possibly be trapped and still be alive?

You know, I pray that that is true. As we go on, every hour that goes on, it's a little tougher and tougher. We're going to have to have that tough conversation sometime in the future, you know, when we're going to shift from a search and rescue to a search and recovery. You know, that will have to be talked about very soon. Obviously, I think we're in day four, if I'm correct, you know, trying to keep up with the days. But that tough conversation will have to happen soon. Sheriff, what do you want people around the country?

This is a national broadcast. What do you want them to know across the U.S. about Kerrville and Kerr County? What I want them to know is, you know, Kerr County, we're sticking together on this. But not only we're sticking together, I'm sure you all see in the parking lot, the resources we have available.

What I can tell everybody right now is the governor and the president have assured me anything I need and everything we need will get. And that has been true up to this point. We have every resource, every asset we need to get the job done. We just need to try to get it done sooner than later. Sheriff, Larry Leitha, Sheriff, we thank you for coming on top story and answering our questions. We know you're incredibly busy, and this is a stressful time, so we appreciate your time.

All right, I want to thank y'all for covering this. We are falling more severe weather across the country. Parts of North Carolina also slammed by widespread flooding tonight. after the remnants of Tropical Storm Chantal brought torrential rain, dropping more than 10 inches of rain in parts of the state. Officials saying at least two people have died and crews have conducted more than 100 rescues so far. All right, we're going to be back in a moment with more heroin stories of survival and heroism here in Texas, how one family is remembering the son and father who lost his life trying to save his loved ones as the floodwaters rose. More of that interview coming up.

We'll return to the tragedy here in Kerrville, Texas in a moment, but we're also following breaking news out of Washington, D.C., and the White House. President Trump speaking to reporters at a dinner right now with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with some of his cabinet members you can see there. This coming as the Trump administration delayed the deadline for tariffs today. So a lot happening there at the White House. I want to bring in our senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez to get up to speed. Gabe, we've been able to learn more about what President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu are focusing on tonight. update our viewers on what you've learned. Yeah, Tom, look, this meeting between

Prime Minister Netanyahu and the president, the first one since the U.S. bombed Iran. He's having dinner with him right now, as you're seeing in those live pictures, and there's now this renewed push for a ceasefire in Gaza. Now, the president says that he thinks a hostage deal could be reached this week, though Hamas has not signed off. It is not yet clear what the endgame would be to all this. But today, the White House said special envoy, Steve Whitkoff,

will meet with negotiators in Doha later this week, Tom. And then, Gabe, let's transition out of tariffs, right? We understand that they sort of move the goalposts a little bit here. The Trump administration, walk our viewers through what's happening. Yeah, that's right. Look, President Trump had paused his tariffs until July 9th. That is, two days from now. So instead, the White House now says that deadline will be pushed back until August 1st

while the administration keeps trying to negotiate trade deals. Now, President Trump was just asked about this by reporters in that room, and he said that now the August 1st deadline is firm, but not 100 percent firm. Now, today, President Trump also posted letters. He says he is sending to more than a dozen countries laying out what their tariffs rates will be. For example, 25 percent for Japan, 40 percent for Myanmar. And amid the uncertainty, Tom, the Dow Jones dropped more than 400 points this afternoon. One other point I should mention, the president there in that meeting, again, which is happening live. He was asked by reporters for more details on when he plans to visit Texas following that flooding disaster that you're covering.

The president says that he does indeed plan to go there on Friday, talk. Yeah, he wants to give the first responders and the volunteers here some time. He said, OK, Gabe, we thank you for those updates. We want to bring it back here to Texas in another major headline that we're tracking. A man is dead after exchanging gunfire with Border Patrol. agents in McAllen. What was spray painted on the suspect's car and what it could mean for the investigation? NBC's Kathy Park has the late details. Tonight, a border patrol facility in McAllen, Texas, on high alert after a shooter armed with a rifle opened fire. We received a call in McAllen PD

at about 5.50 this morning of a person basically assaulting and attacking the federal building. Officials say federal agents fired back and helped neutralize a shooter. During the deadly exchange, the McAllen Police Chief saying an officer was injured. There were many, many, many dozens of rounds fired from by the suspect towards a building and towards agents in that building. Authorities identifying the suspect as 27-year-old Ryan Lewis Mosqueda, who they say had other weapons and more ammunition. The police chiefs in Mosqueda was reported missing this morning near McAllen, later arriving in a vehicle with Michigan license plates, which also displayed a spray-painted Latin phrase, Cordes-Dyton. or Day of the Heart.

When someone drives onto a parking line and opens fire, there is some premeditation involved, as far as I'm concerned. Near McAllen, Westlaco, police say they stopped Mosquito's father for a traffic violation just before 4 a.m., who claimed his son Ryan Mosquito was missing and had a mental deficiency. Police say no documentation was provided to support that claim. His father also telling authorities Ryan Mosquito had weapons in his vehicle. Officials assuring the public there's no longer an active threat. But growing questions tonight about the suspect's possible motive and if anyone else may have been involved in the attack.

Kathy Park, NBC News. And as we continue our coverage on the ground here in Kerrville, Texas, we want to dive a little deeper into one of the stories we brought you earlier in the broadcast. Among those who lost her lives as the water began to rise, Julian Ryan. He's a 27-year-old father who died trying to save his family. Earlier today, I spoke to his wife, mother, and older brother about that tragic. ignite and how they want to remember him. Christine, I'm going to start with you. What can you tell me first about Julian and what you remember what happened?

We woke up, we panicked. My mother-in-law, my son came in and screaming. It was flooding. We went to go check the windows, and we went to check the front door and open it a little bit to see if we could get out. And it was just flooding. And water came pouring in. Our car was moved all the way down by the end of the house.

So we ran back to the room to call 911 to see what we were supposed to do because last we'd heard it was just a regular, like, flood warning, staying in shelter. And we called and they told us to get to higher ground, and my mother-in-law and him started, and my husband started panicking because there was no way for us to get out, there was no way for us to get up. And so he tried to bust out the window and sliced his arm almost off. He punches through the window? I'm not sure if he punched or whether he elbowed, but at some point his arm connected with the window and it sliced from here to here just completely.

And he started bleeding everywhere, screaming, guys, somebody wrap it, somebody wrap it, somebody wrap it, somebody wrap it, and I had the kids and the water was already high, so I had her do it. And he was already saying he couldn't feel anything and that his arm was. numb and we kept calling 911 and we kept telling him to please get somebody out there like my husband's bleeding out he there's nothing we can do like we can't stop it and eventually a few minutes or went by and he was going what do I'm so sorry I'm so sorry you had to see your son go through that I just remember him so he would get swept in the flood. Blood going everywhere.

His last words to me was, Mom, I love you. And you make sure you tell everybody else I love you. Love them. When you look over your shoulder and you see that river, I mean, what do you think? I don't want to be anywhere near it. anywhere near it. I see tragedy. I see loss, not just for us, but everybody else. Because I lost my husband, but so many people have lost their families, their children,

their brothers, their sisters, they're just, it's not fair. It's not. It's not. Is there anything you want to say about your brother that you want people to remember him by? Um, he was just, he always looked up to me, he was my younger brother. Um, he was, he made everybody laugh. He always had a smile on his face. Nothing ever bothered him. He was just all about his family, all about his kids. Now it's, we're, we're burying him.

The family of Julian Ryan right there. Still ahead on top story, the magic of Camp Mystic Forever marred tonight by this unspeakable tragedy. We'll speak with a local author who was drawn to this touchstone of Texas culture as a child, then returned again and again to tell its story. She's here tonight to bear witness to the loss and devastation. We'll talk to her. And through hell and high water, how her correspondent's family helped lift others up this flood and the flashback till the one they survived nearly 40 years ago.

Stay with us. And you're looking at new images coming in tonight from Camp Mystic, people sorting through children's belongings that were left behind in the frantic evacuations. Their trunks, their bedding, their stuffed animals, all piled on the grass. We're live here in Kerrville, Texas, with our ongoing coverage of the deadly flash flood disaster. More than 100 people have been killed. At least 27 of them campers and counselors at that summer camp. Located on the banks of the Guadalupe River, Camp Mystic has been hosting campers for more than a hundred, almost 100 years, I should say, and has seen severe flooding, but never to this extent. Joining us now here is Claudia Sullivan. She is a former camper and counselor at Camp Mystic, and she's written multiple books on the importance and significance of the camp here in the Texas Hill country.

She's also currently lives just outside of Curveville. Claudia, thanks so much for joining us. Thank you. I am sorry for everything you were going through in that Camp Mystic community is going through, and I can't imagine what those parents are. going through tonight. How is the community doing? I think we're pulling together and there's been so many resources, so many people from out of town, out of state that have come in to help. That lifts us up because the camping business in this county is the heart and soul of Curville. What was so special about Camp Mystic? Well, I can speak to numerous camps here in this area, all 18 of them. The pristine beauty of nature and the ability to be in a, in a, in the ability to be

in a place where you can express yourself and have fun and have a sisterhood or a brotherhood. It's just a wonderful way to spend the summer. It's a wonderful place to, as a young person, to find out who you really are. In many ways, the remoteness of it, right? The sort of disconnecting of it is why parents would send their kids there, right? To kind of get back with nature and get back with each other, get rid of the distractions. But there's this sort of really horrific irony to all that, right? because that may have hurt in the rescue process.

How would you describe the camp experience for people that aren't familiar with it? Well, I think many people have had a camping experience, whether it was an overnight camp, a Boy Scout camp, a Christian camp, an athletic camp. But the camps here, because they are what we call sleepaway camps. They're overnight four, five, six weeks long. You have a period of time to be able to learn some skills, some fun, how to canoe, how to shoot a gun, how to shoot a bow. and arrow, how to swim. But you also have a chance to, as I said, really investigate who you are

outside of your family, outside of your school. And so these little girls and little boys, too, they have a way to express their own identity at an early age. Was the camp safe? I think so, yes. The year, the 100-year flood was the 32 flood. And that seemed to have set the standard. And most of the camps up there were building buildings in the 30s, and they had no problem. And from what I've seen, the water came to places it's never been before. I was there in 1978. It was a similar experience. The flood came in the night. We got word to move, and we moved 20, 20 campers, like every 30 minutes, to higher ground. We were never afraid. We always knew we had higher ground. We always knew we had safety. And I think this time, there was no safety.

I mean, not only was the camp loss, the director, Dick Eastland. You knew this man. The measurable loss, yeah. What does it mean and that he died trying to save others, sort of speaks to how horrific is how to be? Well, and I think I heard his grandson say on television today that if grandpa had not died of natural causes, this would be the way he would have wanted to go. And Jane Ragsdale. Jane Ragsdale was in. my cabin when she was 10 years old. So I've known Jane Ragsdale from Heart of the Hills all those years. And here are two camp counselors. They went to camp as young people. They grew up in it and became directors. Their heart and soul was in it. They loved it. And I'm not surprised

at all that they tried to save people. This no doubt will forever change sort of the camping culture, I would think here in the hill country. People are going to take a tough look at the camps and making sure they're safe for something like this, the unpredictable. Will it ever be the same? Or should it change? I mean, is this a sign that it needs to change? Yeah, it's hard for me to say. I'm sure that some rebuilding will be looked at and moving it back or moving it up.

That has to happen. Now, talk of early warning systems and talk of better cell service, I'm not an engineer. It sounds like all those things would help. But they will rebuild. It may not be rebuilt in the same way. Hopefully there will be changes that protect us in the future. Climate change, bigger storms, more storms that are unpredictable. And do you think Camp Mystic, so many parents, I mean, I can't imagine they're just beside themselves, you know?

Will the camp help them out with therapy, with anything? I mean, they can never bring their child back, but I mean, this is just terrible. And I think they already are. I've seen countless sites on social media where ex-campers, ex-counsellors in Houston, Austin, wherever, they're setting up group sessions for therapy, they're having prayer services, they're trying to get people together if they want to come in at some point and help clean. So, yeah, there's a massive effort to do that. It'll be a long time and it'll be hard, but I think we're visiting it. There was that wonderful video that it was of some campers from men. They got off the Black Hawk helicopter, they got into a bus, and they were being taken to Ingram Elementary.

And there was no counselor, no adult on the bus. They were sitting there calm, and they improvisationally broke into singing camp songs. And, you know, I think camp teaches them that resilience. Claudia Sullivan, we thank you for chatting with us. I know this is a tough time for you in your community, but we thank you for being out here. Thank you for having me, yes. We want to take a moment here to provide some critical information about what to do if you find yourself ever in a flash flood emergency. We talked to Julie Munger, who has trained swift water rescue teams for four decades,

and David Markinson, a pediatric emergency physician and former chair of the American Red Cross Science Advisory Council. Here are four of the most important tips they shared to help you and your loved ones stay safe. When you're thinking about dealing with a flood at home, the most important part is the pre-planning and getting away from the rising floodwaters as early as possible. for where the high point is if you have to go to it. Key thing is to get out and not be concerned with your possessions. No matter how priceless they are,

no possession as is priceless as you and your family. If you're in a house or a building when the floods start, you want to get to the highest story possible without getting trapped in an attic. Highest, highest, highest point in your home. Again, don't grab possessions, but grab a communication device. Getting onto the roof would be critical

because that's a place where helicopters or rescuers can see you. We're wearing bright clothes if you have the opportunity, you want to be able to be seen if you're at the position where you're escaping a house and getting onto a roof. If you're trying to get out of a window in a house, using a chair or a shovel or any kind of other thing beside your physical body is going to help prevent injuries. Key is to use an implement that is designed for it.

There are actually punches that people can keep for a car window or another window for an emergency. If you are caught in a car during a flood and your car is being lifted, you want to roll down the windows as soon as possible. Ideally, you'd rather have the car fill with water so it becomes more like a rock instead of just a bobbing object floating downstream

and get up on top of the roof and then stay as flat as possible so you don't get knocked off the car. Water will always win against the car. Never, never, never assume the car will get through it be fine. Don't drown, turn around, head away from the problem. Get out of the car, leave your possessions, protect yourself. Don't be complacent. Plan and listen to warnings. Even if it's the 20th warning you've heard, that may be the one where there's the real problem. Always take

them seriously. Some life-saving tips right there. When Top Story returns, hometown heartbreak, our own Morgan Chesky covering the unimaginable pain of dozens of lives lost. Beloved campgrounds destroyed in the place where he grew up, his own mother having to evacuate. Morgan's very personal firsthand account, his reporter's journal. That's next. Finally tonight, this tragedy hitting close to home for one of our own, NBC's Morgan Chesky, born just two blocks from the river you see behind me. His family evacuating in the early morning hours on Friday,

They have seen floods before, but nothing like this one. I feel really glad to have both you all here right now. Growing up in Curville, Texas, where the waters of the Gwad Loop always offered a cool escape, I was excited when my mom, Karen, and stepdad Michael retired on its banks. We love this river. We love being on the river. We've had grandkids playing this river, and it's just been very shocking. Shocking because in the early hours of Friday morning, our beloved river turns out.

into something else entirely. My mom waking up to a weather alert at 4 a.m. and pounding rain. We could see that the water was about five feet from the street level. I'm beating on the RV. Michael, waiting through water to alert families in neighboring RVs. I'm telling him the river's out of the bank. Get up, get up. And fortunately, they all woke up, and we didn't have a loss of life.

They got out. My mom in the kitchen when she heard the river roar. Then by the time we left, it was up right about here. My mom telling me the river rose 30 feet in less than an hour. It was then they were forced to evacuate, not knowing what they would return to. For Michael, coming home brought relief that the house was still there, but it's what he saw next. That'll stay with them. It became real to me when we found the first body.

a young girl, and it was just, it just froze me. I can wrap my mind around it. The entire community is reeling right now. I think we're all stunned and shocked that this happened here. Tonight, with so much tragedy around these waters, my family knows how lucky we are, as friends face an unimaginable loss. We're fine. Glad you guys are okay. Yeah, thank you, babe. Thanks for texting.

You're okay. You came here for the view. Now this. Yeah, it's been altered. But I have faith that it will grow back and be as beautiful as it was. So, Morgan, I'm going to ask you the same question. You asked your mom there. When you look over at this river, you look at this destruction, what do you think now of the Guadalupe

River? Tom, it is a place that draws so many people for its beauty. You grow up here. You take those good days with the bad, but again, this is unlike anything that any of us have ever seen. And I think it's going to be a very long time before we look at this river in the way in which we did just five days ago. It's hard to look at it, right?

It is. It is. I mean, this is a river I camped alongside as a kid. I still remember where my rope swing was, just a few miles down, that I would hit up with my buddies in high school. And I think that only adds to the pain that so many folks are feeling right now. It is the memories tied to this place. As you know, people all across the country are going to watch this show tonight, watch your report. What is this area need from the rest of the country?

Well, Tom, I will say it's been incredibly encouraging to see just how many goods have been pouring into Kerrville, churches, at donation centers. That's going to need to continue for the long haul. because this is a recovery that's not going to take months, it's going to take years. And so hopefully that can continue. But tonight, with a number of people still missing, I think the thing Curville could use the most of is just hope. Yeah. And before you go, one of the things I notice here is the Army of Volunteers, people from all over Texas, New Mexico we've heard.

What is it about this community that's attracted all these people? Tom, I think it's just the shared humanity of this moment. You know, we've shared the stories of these folks waiting to find out about their loved ones. We've heard the survival stories. And then I think the fact that we're here, letting people know just how hard this community was hit. By doing that, it lets the nation and the world know what they need to do to kind of lift us back up on our feet. And I know that, you know, to everyone hurting tonight, help is on the way. And, you know, it can't come fast enough.

Yeah, help is definitely on the way. Morgan, I want to thank you for opening up and telling us that story, that very personal story, because it's not easy to report the news when it's about you. So we thank you for being here. We thank your family as well. If you'd like to help the survivors of the tragedy, you can go to NBCNews.com to find ways to contribute to the flood victims. For now, we thank you for watching the special edition of Top Story tonight, reporting live from Kerrville, Texas. I'm Tom Yamis. Stay right there. There's more news on the way.